What began with a question of how to provide a simple solution for the critically ill patients with coronavirus, resulted in a project to support the current national and global health crisis.

The ventilator, designed by Universidad de La Sabana, is now becoming prepared for mass production. This is possible after successfully passing the tests carried out by a team of anesthesiologists, pulmonary and critical care medicine doctors in the simulation lab of the School of Medicine, as well as in the facilities of the Institute of Medical Simulation (INSIMED), where tests were carried out using biomodels..

This device is designed with low-cost and easy to obtain local and foreign elements, and can be fed with oxygen cylinders or by plugging into hospital medical gas pipeline systems. It works with electric power, has a backup battery in case of power cuts, as well as alarms and security systems that prevent human-tolerable pressures from being exceeded. All the necessary procedures and requirements from the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA) have been met. At this moment, the equipment is being prepared for mass production.

“From the scientific side, we have been preparing for this contingency for several weeks, seeking the best evidence in management guides, biosafety protocols in accordance with international guidelines, regulations, adaptation of infrastructure, logistics for hospital supplies, medications, training of people, etc. In addition, our University Hospital, as a nationally accredited institution, has the ideal task force to face this difficult situation. We have mechanical ventilation equipment available, monitoring procedures that respond to our installed capacity, support for diagnostic images, as well as an adequate clinical laboratory for timely diagnosis,” says Dr. Juan Guillermo Ortiz, General Director of the University’s Hospital (Clínica Universidad de La Sabana)